BrainTrust Query: Mobile Is a Distraction
Numbers. Statistics. Just the facts. Is the fixation on mobile and e-commerce for many retailers coming at the expense of proper attention to brick & mortar ope...
BrainTrust Query: Seven Tips for Retailers to Avoid Holiday Burn Out
With all the demands of the holiday season, it's easy for retail staff to throw up their hands and become Grinches. But that comfortable old "grinchy" feeling w...
BrainTrust Query: American Express Small Business Saturday – Good for Independent Retailers
American Express is holding an event Saturday, Nov. 27 and they want shoppers to party at their local independent bricks & mortar shop or restaurant. What do yo...
BrainTrust Query: Four Reminders About Effective Store Design
Organization of a store is crucial to building sales because the merchandise can only do so much with clever packaging. What are some of your pet peeves around ...
BrainTrust Query: How to Create a Commission Structure for Better Retail Salespeople
Commissioning sales works. Whether that means employees get an hourly rate and a percentage of sales, a bonus at the end of the month or a chance to win a trip ...
BrainTrust Query: Main Street Must Be Interdependent Businesses, Not Independent
There is a renewed emphasis on downtown Main Streets because they are what gives their communities character. America's foundation for greatness has come from h...
BrainTrust Query: Bombshell – Major Brand Shutting Blinds to Online Sales
In a statement this week, Hunter Douglas said that effective June 1, the brand's window coverings will no longer be sold through the internet sales channel, bel...
BrainTrust Query: Junk mail isn’t so junky…
Anyone noticed how many newspapers have closed up shop or drastically changed their business model in the last 24 months? Many retailers and independent merchan...
Retail Customer Experience: Five Signs a Retail Store Needs a Makeover
When a store first opens, everything is fresh.. However, many years later, the store may be still chugging along, but that once shiny layer of paint is now fade...
BrainTrust Query: 45 Percent of Employees Don’t Contribute to the Bottom Line
The Associated Press reported that according to a phone survey of "1,000 randomly selected U.S. small businesses, 41 percent said workers are paid for attendanc...
Retail Customer Experience: Why good customer service is like billiards
It's not up to the customer to respond correctly. Associates in a group should break up, and one should offer assistance. Is associate congregation a significan...
BrainTrust Query: Can recently laid-off retail associates still work in the industry effectively?
As retailers look to cut overhead and maintain profitability during recessionary times, underperforming stores and divisions are being shuttered without hesitat...
BrainTrust Query: Is the news media terrorizing the U.S.A. about the economy?
The media is having a field day with news of the U.S. economy and should, BrainTrust Panelist Bob Phibbs thinks, be called out as terrorizing the citizens of th...